Love to hear your experiences with these questions...
What do you encourage students to use the library's resources? How do you help reluctant readers to find a book they will enjoy? What are your tricks for getting books returned for others to use? How do you measure and share success?
Things I've tried...
Date Due Slip Bookmarks - Make these large enough (12 per page) and you can insert these into the books as students sign them out. I save these bookmarks on the computer in a Date Due folder and have a template made for each month September - June. I just use the edit feature to make wholesale changes, then print copies and cut these up each morning. Keep slips by the checkout desk in a little bowl. Faster than stamping a date due page.
Encourage Renewals - Place an arrow sign in the hallway with the message, "It's probably time to renew your library book. Come on in!" When I do this the number of daily renewals jumps astronomically. I don't charge fines but some schools do in order to get students to return books.
Security System - Every Monday walk through the security system gates with a book to test that it is in working order.
Holds - Students can do online holds but are also welcome to ask the library staff to place holds. We obtain student emails at the time of request and then Destiny's system allows us to send an email with a simple click of a button when the book arrives. Holds for pickup are placed on a shelf for pick up with a small notice clipped onto their cover denoting who the hold is for, the title and the date. Periodically go through the holds to cancel titles which have not been collected.
Overdue Notices - I run off paper copies several times a year and pop them into Homeroom teachers' boxes along with a small candy stapled to the corner (usually a Lifesaver). I'm currently trying automatic overdue emails (Destiny does this) to my Homeroom teachers - so far with limited success. You have some staff members who never follow up - and I try to have an encouraging personal conversation with these teachers. Each month when I run overdues, I sent a notice to Homeroom teachers asking them to let me know that they have shared the overdue list with their class. Whether delivered to me as a note, email, or a verbal message via a student returning a book - this notification earns the teacher an entry into a monthly Starbucks gift card draw. I jot teacher names onto the back of an old date due slip and throw it into a jar until I'm ready to do the draw.
Destiny Overdue Notices - Overdue notices delivered via Destiny is a real lifesaver. You just need to have school email addresses for all students in the school. The return box will be overflowing the next day after the emails are sent. Great idea, Shanna! I'm so going to try this one!
Very Very Overdue Books - I print a notice for extremely overdue books or for those titles with numerous holds. The copy is placed in the Homeroom Teacher's box to apply some pressure. I occasionally make an evening phone call to parents in order to get a book back. What I need is an automated phoning system!
Fair Trade Days - For the two days before the last day in June for books to be returned (as well as the final deadline day itself), run Fair Trade Days. Posters are placed around the school and daily announcements advertise the event. Canvas some of your students to determine their favourite candy and buy bags of these wrapped treats (Starburst, Sour Peaches, Sour Lifesavers, Werthers, Campinos) to place in a jar by the circulation desk. Anyone returning their books - overdue or not - on these three days can pick a candy per book. You would not believe how many books will be returned before your deadline!
LAC members organizing Fair Trade Candy
Damaged Books - If there is some minor damage and you can't track down the culprit, I write a note on the book's title page "water damage noted, May 2011" and initial it. If I do need to charge replacement costs for a book I run off two copies of the bill - delivering one to the student asking them to come and see me and keeping the other bill tucked inside the damaged book. Until the book is paid for I keep the damaged book on a shelf in the office. You could take a photo of an extremely stinky one.
No Stage - By April the office has a good idea of which Grade 12s will not be "crossing the stage" at graduation. I obtain this confidential list, cross check it against my overdues and quietly begin collecting in these books before the students disappear entirely. As well the secretaries work with me to make sure that Grad dance tickets can't be purchased if a student has overdue books.
Circulation Stats - These don't tell the entire story but it's a snapshot of the number of books being circulated and serves as a indication of how much your students are reading - especially when it comes to the fiction section of the library. If you can get a breakdown by section then you can share these numbers with your French teacher, or quote them in a grant proposal's follow-up thank you letter. I always scan the non-fiction resources which have been pulled for use with research classes but don't always get signed out. This tracks their usage as well.
Quick Pick Display - Place portable shelves right by the entrance to the library. Keep stocked with current hot titles, a mixture of fiction and non-fiction, guy reads and chick lit, books for juniour and seniors. Great place to display those fabulous reads that are often overlooked on the shelves.
Paperbacks on shelving, hardcovers stand on top
Clip on acrylic holders from Carr MacLean
Baskets - We use a basket on top of our return box for magazines so they don't get damaged. This is introduced with the Gr. 8 Orientations and saves covers being ripped off by heavier books landing on them. The GX section was constantly a mess with students reading books at lunch and leaving them everywhere. We now have added a basket labelled Books to Reshelve. These books are scanned as being used in the library and then the Library TAs reshelve them - correctly.
CIRCULATION
Love to hear your experiences with these questions...
What do you encourage students to use the library's resources?
How do you help reluctant readers to find a book they will enjoy?
What are your tricks for getting books returned for others to use?
How do you measure and share success?
Things I've tried...
Date Due Slip Bookmarks - Make these large enough (12 per page) and you can insert these into the books as students sign them out. I save these bookmarks on the computer in a Date Due folder and have a template made for each month September - June. I just use the edit feature to make wholesale changes, then print copies and cut these up each morning. Keep slips by the checkout desk in a little bowl. Faster than stamping a date due page.
Encourage Renewals - Place an arrow sign in the hallway with the message, "It's probably time to renew your library book. Come on in!" When I do this the number of daily renewals jumps astronomically. I don't charge fines but some schools do in order to get students to return books.
Security System - Every Monday walk through the security system gates with a book to test that it is in working order.
Holds - Students can do online holds but are also welcome to ask the library staff to place holds. We obtain student emails at the time of request and then Destiny's system allows us to send an email with a simple click of a button when the book arrives. Holds for pickup are placed on a shelf for pick up with a small notice clipped onto their cover denoting who the hold is for, the title and the date. Periodically go through the holds to cancel titles which have not been collected.
Overdue Notices - I run off paper copies several times a year and pop them into Homeroom teachers' boxes along with a small candy stapled to the corner (usually a Lifesaver). I'm currently trying automatic overdue emails (Destiny does this) to my Homeroom teachers - so far with limited success. You have some staff members who never follow up - and I try to have an encouraging personal conversation with these teachers. Each month when I run overdues, I sent a notice to Homeroom teachers asking them to let me know that they have shared the overdue list with their class. Whether delivered to me as a note, email, or a verbal message via a student returning a book - this notification earns the teacher an entry into a monthly Starbucks gift card draw. I jot teacher names onto the back of an old date due slip and throw it into a jar until I'm ready to do the draw.
Destiny Overdue Notices - Overdue notices delivered via Destiny is a real lifesaver. You just need to have school email addresses for all students in the school. The return box will be overflowing the next day after the emails are sent. Great idea, Shanna! I'm so going to try this one!
Very Very Overdue Books - I print a notice for extremely overdue books or for those titles with numerous holds. The copy is placed in the Homeroom Teacher's box to apply some pressure. I occasionally make an evening phone call to parents in order to get a book back. What I need is an automated phoning system!
Fair Trade Days - For the two days before the last day in June for books to be returned (as well as the final deadline day itself), run Fair Trade Days. Posters are placed around the school and daily announcements advertise the event. Canvas some of your students to determine their favourite candy and buy bags of these wrapped treats (Starburst, Sour Peaches, Sour Lifesavers, Werthers, Campinos) to place in a jar by the circulation desk. Anyone returning their books - overdue or not - on these three days can pick a candy per book. You would not believe how many books will be returned before your deadline!
Damaged Books - If there is some minor damage and you can't track down the culprit, I write a note on the book's title page "water damage noted, May 2011" and initial it. If I do need to charge replacement costs for a book I run off two copies of the bill - delivering one to the student asking them to come and see me and keeping the other bill tucked inside the damaged book. Until the book is paid for I keep the damaged book on a shelf in the office. You could take a photo of an extremely stinky one.
No Stage - By April the office has a good idea of which Grade 12s will not be "crossing the stage" at graduation. I obtain this confidential list, cross check it against my overdues and quietly begin collecting in these books before the students disappear entirely. As well the secretaries work with me to make sure that Grad dance tickets can't be purchased if a student has overdue books.
Circulation Stats - These don't tell the entire story but it's a snapshot of the number of books being circulated and serves as a indication of how much your students are reading - especially when it comes to the fiction section of the library. If you can get a breakdown by section then you can share these numbers with your French teacher, or quote them in a grant proposal's follow-up thank you letter. I always scan the non-fiction resources which have been pulled for use with research classes but don't always get signed out. This tracks their usage as well.
Quick Pick Display - Place portable shelves right by the entrance to the library. Keep stocked with current hot titles, a mixture of fiction and non-fiction, guy reads and chick lit, books for juniour and seniors. Great place to display those fabulous reads that are often overlooked on the shelves.
Baskets - We use a basket on top of our return box for magazines so they don't get damaged. This is introduced with the Gr. 8 Orientations and saves covers being ripped off by heavier books landing on them. The GX section was constantly a mess with students reading books at lunch and leaving them everywhere. We now have added a basket labelled Books to Reshelve. These books are scanned as being used in the library and then the Library TAs reshelve them - correctly.
Textbooks
Here's a form to use to record Textbook damage.
Inventory